More On IMG’s Appearance Fee Scheme

Veteran Detroit Golf Writer Vartan Kupelian reports that the PGA tour:

issued a statement reaffirming its “long history of rejecting the concept of paying players to appear in a particular Tour event.”

“Consequently, we take very seriously any proposals that would constitute a violation of this key Tour regulation,” the statement read. “We will review this recent solicitation and take whatever steps we deem necessary.”

For those of you who missed the story, super sports agency IMG had floated a proposal earlier to set up a paid “Monday Event” before PGA Tournaments to encourage the top players to participate. IMG apparently was inspored by the fact that the PGA had turned its head when Ford ran a similar event before the Ford Doral tournament.

In that event, Ford reportedly paid four top golfers $150,000 each to play with dealers at a Miami-area golf course. The understanding, of course, was that they would stick around to play the tournament later that week.